euges429

Hi all, I'm just curious what your funding situation and stipends are like at a Ph.D. business program. Here's my info: University of Toronto, Ph.D. marketing, $24k, covers tuition and academic fees only. (Student fees, health fees, I have to pay myself). I also got the following offers (but declined): Indiana University, $18k, 50% of tuition/fees paid. University of Illinois, $23k. University of Alberta, $30k (+$8k scholarship), no tuition/fees paid. University of Minnesota, $23k. Yours? (I know there's already a "general" discussion non-business specific, but that topic is WAY too long - since 2006! - and this is business specific.)

Well, I lied, but intentionally. I did my undergrad at an institution very similar in size and "prestige" as Berkeley, same thing for my master's at "Princeton." I tend to not give out the specific schools I attended, primarily for privacy reasons. So, for my master's, I went to a equally-prestigious private school, similar ranking, similar size, etc... But to formally reply to your query: Actually, Princeton does have master's degrees.

Yeah, that's mine.

Well, for my undergrad and masters, I went to Berkeley and Princeton, respectively, even though I'm from Toronto. I'm not as biased as one might think, since I tried to AVOID Toronto during those years. But it's a strong school in many programs, no one can argue with that. I hate UofT in many ways. I can write a 100-page essay on why I hate UofT. But I have to respect its strengths, which I'm doing.

I went to Mich for my undergrad, and I took one class in Complit. But from what I know, they have a relatively-strong program. Plus the Michigan brand name will speak for itself. It's not Stanford, but it's within the top 3 among public schools (brand recognition).

I love the people here on this forum and GradCafe. The folks over at the Chronicle.com forums, I posted the same thing (accept then withdraw later), they completely bashed me, saying what I'm doing is unethical and I should just, as you said, "man up." They all think that there's no exception to the rule, even though I'm in the grad program for 4-8 years. I love you guys! *kisses*

Haha. York is good. Not as strong as UofT overall, but some of York's programs are well-regarded.

It's kinda like this. You're not from Toronto, right? So it's really hard for you to know the school in more detail. Think of it this way: in the "general public," Harvard is the top-school, possibly in the world. But within the academic circle, Harvard is known as very overrated, and grades are inflated. Still a strong school, but not as strong as the general public would tend to believe. If you're in the academic circle, you can tell your grandma that Harvard isn't *that* strong, but she would have a hard time believing you, since what the "general public" knows is that Harvard is, well, Harvard.

I'm willing to bet my life that no Ryerson Ph.D. graduates hold academic positions in any of the top 30 programs in Canada -- in CANADA. My conviction is strong. You can put me down for putting Ryerson (and its students) down, but it's the truth. If you don't live in Toronto, you really don't know the overall (poor) reputation of Ryerson. You just don't. I will say this (positive thing), though. Ryerson is good at producing grads who go into industry, or at least, non-academia. So if your plan with your Ph.D. is to go into, journalism, or other non-academic job, Ryerson may be the best choice. They value "real-life" experience, and not so much on "research" or "theory" as say UofT or other schools would.

I truly didn't mean to insult Ryerson or those who go (or plan on going) there. But it's hard for me why anyone would choose Ryerson for a graduate program. Possibly their engineering program, since they used to be a polytechnic institution (a primarily undergraduate one at that). In Toronto, people here know (or have the belief) that if you go to Ryerson (for undergrad), your high school GPA was terrible. But anyways, I somewhat agree with you that for the size of Toronto, we have so few universities. It's hard to say that because most universities here lie right OUTSIDE of Toronto. In the city proper, you have UofT, York University and Ryerson University. But right outside, within two hours' drive at the most, you have Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier, University of Western Ontario, 3 more. A bit farther, you have Windsor and Queen's, though they're a good 3+ hours away. We also have a bunch of community colleges. Compare, say, New York City. You have NYU and Columbia, but those are the two "big" or "prestigious" schools. You also have City University of New York and other "city" or "state" colleges, but they're not well-known. San Francisco, UC-Berkeley is near, but even Stanford is outside SF. So SF proper technically has no strong schools (UCSF is primarily a medical school).

Well, I'm from Toronto. Obviously, the best school in the city, if not the country, is UofT. Ryerson has and will always be a community-college-type school. It's trying to grow into a "research-intensive" university, but it really isn't. I've studied in the States, let me try to make an analogy: Consider, San Francisco. You have Berkeley or Stanford, and choose a community college. That would be the comparison. Ryerson is nowhere near the top 20 of all Canadian schools (and we're a small country). Even the University of Prince Edward Island is more regarded. I'm seriously not trying to put anyone down, but Ryerson is a terrible terrible school, for both undergrad, and their few graduate programs. Any Torontonian and Canadian will tell you that.

I'm really sorry, and I don't truly mean to, but... I just have to laugh at anyone who holds a Ph.D. from Ryerson, or who *wants* to go there for Ph.D., even for their top programs like engineering. Ryerson is a terrible school academically--it's still more a community college than full-fledged university--and I can't imagine any Ph.D. holder from there can get a good job, academia or otherwise. Again, truly, not to put you down. But Ryerson is even worse than North Western Carolina State University -- if there's such a school. Seriously.

This post is for all the grad school application ironies. Me, applying to Ph.D. programs in marketing. Ohio State rejected me. But Yale accepted me, as did Minnesota and Toronto. How about you guys? Which of your safety schools rejected you, but top schools accepted you?

No one's going to UToronto (any program), I guess, eh??

Continuation... Case in point, I have several offers from my applications to Ph.D. programs in business. School A is giving me $38k for first two years, and $30k for last two years, with tuition fully-paid. School B is giving me $24k for all four (or five) years, tuition paid as well. Obviously, School A has a LOT better funding package! But School A is also a second-tier school, while School B is a top-tier school. I know that once I come out of School B (I've accepted their offer), I can get a good job of about $120k (business Ph.D.s make lots of moola). If I went towards School A, a degree from there will net me probably just $90k. So yeah, in the short-term, if I stayed at School A, I could even own a BMW! But think long-term. Long-term, financially, it wouldn't be worth it just for those four-five years in a Beemer. Of course, I don't know about the qualities of your Schools #1 and #2, but if it's anywhere near my situation, I would opt for School #2. Good luck!

Can you not read? The website didn't say EVERY student is funded, just "nearly." You're misreading the site. You should be blaming yourself. I'm sorry to be frank, but you really should. They never guaranteed they would be able to fund you if you were admitted.

It's about going with your gut, but it's also about finances as well--that is, long-term finances. Yeah, you'll be better for the next four or five years at School #1, but think about holding a degree from School #2. (I'm assuming it's a better school than School #1.) You'll get more money when you come out, whether you're a professor or working out in industry. For the next four-five years, you might need to save a bit, but in the long-term, you would be better off at School #2...

That's actually quite stupid, really. If you really had no money left over at the end of the month, then of course, you shouldn't invest. But it's always a good idea to invest, especially when we're in our 20s (I'm assuming you are), since it'll be invested for the long-term, ride out the waves of the stock market, and take them out in 40 years or so. You'll be rich! Well, not rich, but you would be better off, financially-speaking. (Unless you choose terrible stocks, but that's why investing long-term has its benefits.)

I've also now declined the University of Alberta, PhD marketing. (From before, declines: UIUC, Indiana, Minnesota, all PhD marketing.)

I'm going to the University of Toronto next year. Ph.D. in marketing, Rotman School of Management. Anyone else going to Rotman, or UofT in general? Hit me up! I'm also from the Toronto area, and wouldn't mind meeting up with you guys before September.

Let's break it down into the "top" vs "middle" vs "bottom" schools, since they'll be different. I know as a fact (since I've been an applicant in both): top business phd schools 5-8% top social psychology phd schools 4-6% What about other programs? How hard is it to get into a PhD program?

It's pretty usual that most people apply to PhD programs two or three years. It's hard to get into one, it just is. I got in this year, after 3 years of trying to do so. What about you guys? From the grad school notice list on thegradcafe.com, I've read that most people are like me too -- this year is their 2nd or 3rd attempt.

There was no typo. It was a grammatical error.

This is what I did when I was in the same situation: Dear Sir, I recently heard back from the admissions office saying that I have been admitted into the program. Of course, I'm very pleased and humbled at the same time. I am greatly interested in the program. Talking with you has given me a great deal to think about! I will seriously consider the offer. Thanks so much. I hope to work with you in the future. Sincerely, John Doe Something along those lines.

I'm PhD marketing, and I've declined offers from UIUC and Indiana.